Assessing Attitudes: The Victim Mentality

Sep 01, 2000

A suspect guilty of a crime often displays attitudes during an interview which are typically quite different from those attitudes exhibited by an innocent person. During an investigation, an investigator may note...

The Role of Eye Contact During Interpersonal Communication

May 01, 2000

When average people are asked about nonverbal communication, most will mention eye contact. The eyes are considered "the windows of the soul" and The Eagles warned that, "you can't hide your lying...

THE ROLE OF DEFENSE MECHANISMS IN DETECTING DECEPTION

Mar 01, 2000

The act of committing a crime is always associated with an emotional state. Most criminals experience some level of shame, guilt or loss of self-esteem. Others primarily experience a fear of being...

THE INFLUENCE OF THE INVESTIGATOR'S DEMEANOR ON A SUBJECT'S BEHAVIOR

Oct 01, 1999

One of the principles of behavior symptom analysis taught in the Reid Technique is that the investigator's demeanor has a significant influence on the subject's behavior. For example, an investigator who becomes...

INTERPRETING VERBAL PHRASES

Sep 01, 1999

During an interview a subject freely chooses which words or phrases to use when responding to the investigator's question. This choice is not random or haphazard; it is carefully selected to offer...

PARALINGUISTIC COMMUNICATION

Jul 01, 1999

The paralinguistic channel of communication is defined as speech characteristics falling outside of the spoken word. Just as a subject's nonverbal behavior can completely alter the meaning of words within a verbal...

EVALUATING A SUBJECT'S POSTURE DURING AN INTERVIEW

May 01, 1999

The foundation of a subject's nonverbal communication is his posture. How a person's body is positioned in a chair often dictates arm and leg movements and, in some cases, even eye contact...

EVALUATING HAND BEHAVIOR DURING AN INTERVIEW

Feb 01, 1999

Nonverbal communication often provides information about the sincerity or truthfulness of a person's verbal statement. In this context, hand activity is important for an investigator to evaluate during a subject's response to...